Device for the movement of articles with a flat,rigid,holding surface

ABSTRACT

A device for conveying articles along a working plane provided with openings distributed over and movable in the plane and connected to a vacuum source, and including systems comprising combinations of such devices alone and with conventional conveyors, all to provide means for moving, conveying, sorting, distributing, and classifying articles. The device and systems thereof is useful, for example, in handling baggage and packages.

United States Patent Wriedt I54] DEVICE FOR THE MOVEMENT F ARTICLES WITH A FLAT, RIGID, HOLDING SURFACE [72] Inventor: Alired WrIedt, Kroonhorst 130,

Hamburg 53, Germany [22] Filed: Sept. 9, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 70,640

301 Foreign Application Priority om Sept. 10, 1969 Germany ..P 19 45 732.0 Aug. 18, 1970 Germany ..P 20 879.1

[52] US. CL. ..198/127 R, 271/74 {51] Int. Cl. ..Bg 13/02 [58] Field of Search ..198/127 R; 226/; 271/74 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 5] Oct. 31, 1972 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 238,698 11/1945 Switzerland ..226/95 Primary Examiner-Edward A. Sroka Attorney-Bosworth, Sessions, I-Ierrstrom & Cain [57] ABSTRACT A device for conveying articles along a working plane provided with openings distributed over and movable in the plane and connected to a vacuum source, and.

including systems comprising combinations of such devices alone and with conventional conveyors, all to provide means for moving, conveying, sorting, distributing, and classifying articles. The device and systems thereof is useful, for example, in handling baggage and packages.

18 Claims, 11 Drawing Figures PNENTED w 3 I I972 SHEET 1 OF 9 INVENTOR. (WW WM PATENTEMMI 1912 SHEET 2 [IF 9 INV EN TQR.

PATENTEDucI 31 I972 SHEET 6 BF 9 1 DEVICE FOR THE MOVEMENT OF ARTICLES WITH A FLAT, RIGID, HOLDING SURFACE BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention concerns a device for the movement of articles by means of a conveyor which forms a flat, operating plane with openings evenly distributed over said operating plane behind which openings vacuum supplying members are also evenly distributed over the operating plane.

Devices of this kind are known for the conveyance of very thin materials, particularly plastic packaging foils or the like (German Gebrauchsmuster No. 6,811,483, British Pat.'Specification No. 827,792, and French Pat. Of Addition No. 56,890). These known installations are all equipped with endless conveyor belts with openings evenly distributed over the operating plane and stationary vacuum members are arranged behind the conveyor belt sections conveying at the time. Such conveyor belts move in frictional contact with these vacuum members, which is acceptable in the case of theknown devices because the vacuum for holding the plastic foils or the like to be conveyed can be verysmall and, therefore, also the friction betweenthe belts and the stationary vacuum members caused by the vacuum attraction of the conveyor belts.

, It is the object of the invention to improve devices as described above in such manner that they can also convey heavier articles, such as baggage or parcels, regardless of the orientation of articles in relation to the conveying means. In such improvements, the necessary friction between conveyor and article to be conveyed is not generated by the weight of the article or by special mechanical pressing devices. Further, deleterious frictional forces generated by a vacuum necessary for such heavier loads are not too great. A particular object is to be able to effect all imaginable transfers of articles from one conveyor to another as, for instance, loading and unloading of baggage in connection with aircraft of large transport capacity with a saving in time and personnel.

According to the invention, this is achieved with a device as described above in moving heavier articles having at least one substantially flat and substantially rigid holding surface, such as baggage, parcels or the like, independent of the orientation of operating plane 'of the device, by means of a conveyor comprising a number of rollers which are parallel to each other, are driven with equal circumferential speed, and have openings evenly distributed over their surface, which openings always are connected to vacuum supplying members inside the roller which are preferably situated approximately in the operating plane. It is obvious that this arrangement permits a correspondingly high vacuum to be exerted in the vacuum members as required for the holding or carrying of such heavier articles because these articles have rolling contact with the vacuum rollers in the operating plane without generation of any deleterious frictional forces during their movement.

In one form of the invention, the articles to be handled can be made to abut directly against the rollers.

But one can also interpose an endless conveyor belt between the articles to be handled and the rollers,

which belt has openings. synchronized with the openings in the rollers. This latter version can be of particular advantage in preventing projections of the articles to be handled, such as straps or side-buckles of valises, from entering into the gaps between the rollers and impeding a smooth movement. Further, an endless conveyor belt can be used as driving element for the rollers, for instance, by having its inner side serrated and the rollers correspondingly profiled so that only one roller need drive and this does not even have to be a suction roller.

A particularly advantageous development of the invention is to make the entire device movable in any desired direction together with an article held by its vacuum or alone, as thereby all possible kinds of transfers of the load can be effected in a very simple manner. It is possible, for instance, for the suction conveyor to seize the article arriving on a conveyor belt aligned with the device and, after the suction conveyor has been halted, to move the entire device at will together with its load, and to deposit this load somewhere by cutting off the vacuum or, alternatively, to convey it off the device sideways with vacuum maintained according to the given circumstances.

The entire device can be made movable in a straight line or turnable at will. A further variation is provided by making the entire device turnable as well as movable in a straight line or any chosen combination thereof.

It is also of great advantage to combine several of the devices in operation into one unit where they are jointly turnable but separately movable in a straight line. This last-mentioned version makes it possible, for instance, to use several devices combined into one unit and mounted on a turntable in such a way that, for instance, a device on the turntable in a predetermined position always accepts the loads, whereas those devices in other positions transfer their loads to other conveyors by straight line movement or are idle.

In order to transfer a greater number of heavier articles, such as baggage or parcels, from one vertical level to another chosen level with constant orientation, fast, reliably and in close succession, the device should be as space saving as possible, not too costly, light, and reliable.

It is possible as a further development of the invention with the operating plane of a suction conveyor according to the invention being approximately vertical to add other conveyors which impart a movement to the articles abutting on it which is superimposed on any movement caused by itself. In particular, such other conveyors can be comprised of at least one bucketchain type elevator with an endless lifting means on either side and lifting platforms affixed between them, which latter pass in front of the operating plane of the suction conveyor. Such an arrangement ensures fast up or down conveying of a large number of articles with an excellent transfer at the points of change of conveying direction, in that it is not necessary with this arrangement to move the suction conveyor with its load in its entirety which can be inconvenient and complicated and which necessitates an idle return movement of the suction conveyor and'impedes a fast conveying in close succession.

It is very advantageous if one other suction conveyor is added laterally to at least one of the suction conveyorspositioned between the lifting means having a common operating plane, which solves in a simple and effective manner the problem of the lateral feeding, or the taking off, respectively, of loads.

Furthermore, the lifting platform affixed between the lifting means can be made to reach only partly under the loads and, if necessary, the vacuum supply can be controlled in such a way that during their up or down movement the loads are pulled towards the suction conveyor with a force just sufficient to prevent their toppling out of the operating plane of the suction conveyor but not sufficient to prevent their smooth up or down sliding and that, during their lateral conveying, the full vacuum is exerted.

Also, it is possible to provide holding members in those areas where a lateral transfer is not required, whereby one holding member is always positioned horizontally between the lifting means and vertically in relation to at least one suction conveyor, and, thereby further, the front of the holding member coincides with the operating plane of the suction conveyor and is provided with openings carrying a vacuum similar to the openings in the suction conveyors. These holding members are solely intended to prevent the loads from toppling out of the operating plane, and, therefore, simplify the installation by serving, where possible, in place of the more complex suction conveyors.

However, one can also add to the laterally acting suction conveyor between the lifting means a similar mainly vertically acting suction conveyor in the same operating plane whereby a sliding contact between the loads and the suction conveyors is avoided. This arrangement is especially suited when the installation is intended for a relatively high lift or when it is to be divided, for instance, when it is made partly movable as on a feeder vehicle, whereas the remainder is stationary.

Finally, one can arrange two bucket-chain type elevators with their active lifting platforms opposite each other which makes it possible to use installations of this kind also for heavier and wider loads, preferably, of course, of equal width.

By making the elevators in their entirety or only the suction conveyors horizontally movable in relation to each other, such an installation can also handle loads of different widths.

In order to achieve economical use of the vacuum, one can add to each vacuum supplying member a sensing valve positioned close to the conveying plane which normally interrupts the vacuum supply and only opens it when it is activated by the presence of a load.

It is particularly advantageous to arrange rows of separate openings in the vacuum supplying members normal to the direction of conveyance and to alot to each opening a spring-loaded valve in such a way that the valve is closed by the vacuum when the corresponding vacuum opening of the conveying means is uncovered and that it opens through its spring loading when a load covers the vacuum opening. This achieves a particularly low usage of vacuum because only those vacuum openings in the conveying means which are covered by the load are connected to the vacuum supplying members. v

For this, it is recommended to make the lateral length of each vacuum opening in the conveying means half that of a vacuum supplying opening and also to offset against each other laterally adjacent vacuum openings. This arrangement ensures that approximately the same cross section of openings in the conveying means is always connected to the openings in the vacuum supplying members.

It is further advantageous to cover the conveying means with a smooth or profiled coating of elastic material which leaves the vacuum openings free in order to increase the conveying surfaces whenever conveying rollers are being used. A greater number of covered vacuum openings can thereby be brought into effect simultaneously and the duration of the vacuum supply to these openings can be extended, benefiting the generation of a stronger vacuum. Further, the picking up of an arriving load by the conveyor is facilitated thereby. Also, projections of the load surface, such as valise straps, can be evened out to some extent by these means.

In order to enhance the last-mentioned effect, the vacuum rollers can, at least one of their ends, be spring supported for limited movement out of the operating plane.

Finally, controlling means, such as mechanical, optical, or electric sensors, can be incorporated which start or stop the conveying means, the actuating movements of the entire device in any chosen direction, or the vacuum supply, each alone or in any chosen combination with each other, as soon as a certain load or the entire device has reached a predetermined position.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a dimetric representation of a device according to the invention, partly cut off;

FIG. 1a is a section of a slightly different embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic dimetric representation of an application example;

FIG. 3 is a schematic dimetric representation of a further application example;

FIG. 4 is an additional embodiment of a device according to the invention, also in schematic dimetric representation;

FIG. his a further developed device according to the invention in dimetric representation;

FIG. 4b is an embodiment of a device according to the invention somewhat modified compared to FIG. 4a, also in dimetric representation;

FIG. 40 is a device according to the invention with double elevators for heavier articles, also in dimetric representation;

FIG. 5 is a single suction roller sectioned along line C-D of FIG. 7 with inner vacuum valve opened by an abutting load;

FIG. 6 is a section corresponding to FIG. 5, but with closed vacuum valve; and

FIG. 7 is a section along line A-B of FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, a number of rollers 1 are rotatably supported in a frame 2 in such a way that a kind of roller grate is formed. One longitudinal part 2a of the frame is hollowed out or, in other words, it contains a channel 3, which is connected to a vacuum source, not shown, via a duct 4.

Inside each roller 1 is a vacuum supplying cylindrical member 5 with a longitudinal, partly continuous slot 6. Needle bearings 7 are provided at the ends and in the middle of the vacuum supplying member 5 on which an outer tube 1a is rotatably supported. Each rotatable tube 1a is provided with openings 8 which are evenly distributed over its circumference. The clearance between vacuum supplying member 5 and the rotatable tube 1a is as small as possible in order to prevent loss of vacuum between these two components.

It is obvious that on account of the described configuration, when a vacuum is created in the vacuum supplying member 5, only those openings 8 of the rotatable tubes 1a are connected to the vacuum which happen to be located opposite the slots 6 or in other words, those openings 8 which are located approximately in the conveying plane which is formed by all the rollers 1. i

If now a load 9 with a substantially flat and substantially rigid holding surface is being conveyed laterally onto the suction roller grate, it is evident that the load will be firmly sucked against the rollers by the vacuum introduced into those openings 8 which lie in the conveying plane so that sufficient contact friction is generated to convey the load further along the grate by means of the rollers when these are rotated.

In order to keep the vacuum usage to a minimum, each roller 1 is provided with a sensing valve 10 which protrudes a little beyond the conveying plane of the grate and is depressed by an arriving load and released when the load has passed, whereby the vacuum supply to the particular roller is opened or closed, respectively. No vacuum is introduced in the vacuum supplying members 5 with an unactivated sensing valve 10.

As drive for the rotatable tubes la, an electric motor is provided which, via the belt 12, drives one of the rotatable tubes which, in turn, drives with equal speed all the other rotatable tubes by means of additional belts 13.

To facilitate the conveying, ball transfers 14 or the like can be provided which support the load 9. Such supports might not always be needed. In manycases,

the suction force exerted in the rollers by the vacuum will be sufficient to hold the load against gravity.

In the embodiment according to FIG. 1a, there are provided a number of rollers in the main corresponding to FIG. 1 but with the exception that the outer surface of the rollers is profiled in toothed or grooved form and that an endless conveyor belt lb with only one driven rotatable tube serves as drive for all the otherrollers. Openings 8a are made in the endless conveyor belt lb which, as FIG. 1a shows, synchronize with the openings 8 in the rotatable tubes 1a.

In the application example shown in FIG. 2, a suction roller grate 15, on principle of the kind as represented by FIG. 1, is movable in a straight line in either direction as indicated by the double arrow 16. In order to be disassembled, a column of bags 17 is advanced, step by step, toward, and normal to, the conveying plane of the suction grate. Each of the bags 18 is taken away singly by the conveyor 19 which leads off normally in the direction of advance 16a of the column of bags. This is accomplished by using the suction grate in a manner so that, every time the grate is pushed up to the leading bag of the column 17, grate 15 seizes the bag with its stationary suction rollers, takes it along on the return leg, andconveys it laterally onto the conveyor 19 by its rollers being rotated. After this, the sequence is repeated as often as necessary. The process can also be reversed in a similar manner.

In the application example according to FIG. 3, a panel-shaped article 22 is lifted singly from a stack 21 by a horizontal, vertically movable grate 20 and isthen transferred sideways onto a conveyor 23 which takes it away horizontally. This process also is reversible.

FIG. 4 shows an application example in which three suction grates 25, basically according to FIG. 1, are jointly mounted triangularly in vertical position on a turntable 24 where each individual suction grate 25 can be propelled or retracted in a straight line relative to the turntable 24 as indicated by the arrow 26. Such an arrangement makes it possible to feed bags 28 or the like which arrive on a conveyor 27 to one of the grates in which a suitably oriented deflector 29 is useful,

thereupon to rotate the turntable by a certain angle in i such a way that the bag now stands normal to its direction of original feed, in which position the bag can be discharged through propulsion of the respective grate 25 or, in other words, it is added to a column of bags 30. Meanwhile, the next bag can be fed to the succeeding grate, whereas the original grate can be retracted. This process is reversible. Of course, one can also mount more than three, or less than three, grates on one turntable.

The installation shown in FIG. 4a contains a bucketchain type elevator 51 which is supported by a framework (omitted in the drawing) with two synchronously movable lifting means 52, such as chains, between which lifting platforms 53 are affixed carrying idle rollers. The lifting means are driven by a suitable motor 54 over sprocket wheels 55 preferably through a clutch, not shown in the drawings. The lifting platforms are affixed to the lifting means in such a way that at the front of the elevator they are level.

Suction grates 56 according to the invention are mounted between the lifting means. They convey in a horizontal direction where the version according to FIG. la has been chosen. An endless conveyor belt with openings which synchronize with the vacuum openings of the suction rollers is laid over the individual suction rollers supported in a frame. The draw ing shows only those openings active at the time.

A horizontal conveyor is allocated laterally to each suction grate 56 in three different levels. In order to demonstrate some of the different possible variations,

FIG. 4a shows three alternates; to wit, at the lowest 1 level, a simple roller conveyor 57; in the middle level, a suction grate 58 of the same type as the suction grate 56 of the elevator with additional base support 59; and, at the highest level, a simple conveyor belt 60. A holding member 61 is interposed between the individual suction grates 56. Its frontal plane lies in the operating plane of the suction grates 56 and is provided with vacuum openings which are similar to the vacuum openings in the vacuum grates.

The lifting platforms 53 are considerably narrower than the maximum width of the articles to be conveyed because they do not need to support these in full width as these articles are prevented from toppling out of the operating plane of the conveying means by the vacuum of the suction conveyors 56 or the holding members 61. This results in a correspondingly light and space-saving construction of the lifting platforms and, therefore, of the entire elevator.

As is evident, articles can be brought to the elevator, or taken from it, at any desired level and also to the right or the left as long as corresponding lateral conveyors are provided there. As is further evident, if the installation is used to sort articles, such articles can be taken straight through the elevator with the lifting means being idle and, therefore, the lifting platforms, being stopped, for instance by means of the horizontal conveyor 57 shown in the lowest level.

In order to enable the suction conveyors of the eleva' tor to exert an effective suction upon the articles, their holding surface must be located within the operating plane of the elevator and must, in most cases, first be brought into it. This can be accomplished in diverse conventional ways which are not indicated in the drawings, for instance, by means of conveyor belts or of roller conveyors with a side bias of deflectors.

Thereafter, a suction conveyor increasingly takes over an article thus brought to it and conveys it with full vacuum until the article is centered on a lifting platform and is stopped there by the action of suitable sensors. FIG. 4a shows an article in this stage, or, respectively, in its reversal, in dash-dot lines.

lnstead of relying on the feeding members to effect the alignment-of holding surfaces and operating plane of the elevator, the particular suction conveyor can be made to move forward until it abuts on an article brought within its reach and, if necessary, has pushed it into a position where the holding surface of the article is parallel to its own operating plane. There, the vacuum conveyor is stopped by the action of suitable sensors and exerts full vacuum to seize the article. Whereupon, the suction conveyor is brought back into its home position, taking the article with it after which, the necessary coincidence of the latters holding surface with the operating plane of the elevator is established.

Thereafter, the article can be conveyed up or down by a raising or lowering of the lifting means. Such an elevator can also convey slantingly up or down as long as the lifting means remain parallel to each other in a vertical plane and the lifting platforms horizontal.

It is preferred for the up and down movement of the article to reduce the vacuum in the suction conveyors to such a degree that this is still just sufficient to retain suction on the articles and to secure them against toppling out of the operating plane, but that the friction on the suction conveyors is sufficiently reduced to enable the articles to slide smoothly up or down. The surface of the conveying means of the suction grate can be shaped in such a way that they exert a greater friction horizontally than vertically, for instance by vertical grooving or the like.

The holding members 61 interposed between the suction conveyors fill the vertical gap between the suction conveyors 56.

When the particular lifting platform, and with it the article partly resting on it, has reached the desired level, the elevator stops, the full vacuum is restored at least in the suction conveyor now abutting the article, and the article is conveyed sideways and transferred to the appertaining horizontal conveying means.

FIG. 4b shows an embodiment with a bucket-chain type elevator'which is sub-divided vertically. Whereas, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4a by way of example, holding members 61 are interposed between the horizontally conveying vacuum grates 56, in this embodiment the holding members 61 are replaced by vertically conveying vacuum grates 62 with their conveying plane coinciding with the operating plane of the elevator.

As already mentioned above, such an arrangement can be advantageous when, for instance, the lower section of the installation with its lifting means 52a is installed in a feeder vehicle, whereas the upper section with the lifting means 52b is stationary. Also, by this means, complexity and costs can be saved in the case of undivided installations of considerable height by use of much shorter lifting means, one at the upper and one at the lower end.

Therein, the upper lifting means 52b with the lifting platforms 53b can be like those in the embodiment as shown in FIG. 4a. Whereas, in the case of divided installations, the lower lifting platforms 53a are suitably made hanging, being held level by rollers which run on guides. This arrangement makes it possible to bring the two sections of the lifting means fairly close together vertically in order to insure a good transfer of the loads. The vertical suction conveyor 62 can be made in any desired height. Conveying of the loads, sideways either to or from the installation, at the upper or lower end is effected by laterally joining conveyor belts 63.

In FIG. 4b, a load, indicated by dot-dash lines, is seized by the vertical suction conveyor 62 and is conveyed up during which the lower, the article still supporting lifting platform 53a, is gradually being withdrawn to the rear. The load is then held for a while only by the vertical suction conveyor 62 with full vacuum while it is being conveyed upward. Later, a lifting platform 53b of the upper lifting means 52b swings under the load and supports it when it progressively abuts on the upper horizontal suction conveyor 56. All other steps are as described for the embodiment example of FIG. 4a. This sequence is, of course, reversible.

The embodiment according to FIG. 40 consists of two bucket-chain type elevators 51 facing each other, basically of the same kind as shown in FIG. 4a and described above, wherein the active lifting platforms 53 are placed opposite each other on the inside of the installation and the two elevators stand mirrorlike opposite each other. The installation is suitable for loads with two parallel holding surfaces. The elevator ranges from the home position over three other levels. Only the lowest and the top level are provided with lateral feeding or receiving conveying means, namely conventional conveyor belts 64. If the installation is to be used for selective vertical conveying, in other words, for sorting or collecting, additional suction conveyors 56 as well as lateral conveyors can, of course, be provided at the other levels. Such an installation is particularly suited for relatively heavy and wide loads, preferably of even width.

If loads of different width are to be handled by an installation according to FIG. 40, this can be accomplished in that the horizontal distance between the elevator is made variable by shifting either one elevator or both. Furthermore, the same can be achieved in that the affected suction conveyors are made adjustable either singly or in pairs and are moved into the installation between individual movements of the lifting means until they engage the load. The necessary advance can be controlled by sensors which either measure the width of the load beforehand or which arrest the suction conveyors in their horizontal inward movement when these reach the load. For such compensation of width, the reach of the lifting platforms into the installation must, of course, not be greater than half of the narrowest load. i

For vertical conveying of loads of equal width or if adjustable suction conveyors for different load widths are used, a high load density can be achieved by the utilization of all lifting platforms as is indicated in the drawing by the dot-dash lines.

FIGS. -7 show an embodiment with particularly advantageous operating vacuum valves where the basic construction of each suction roller corresponds to FIG. 1.

A rotatable tube 31 is provided with vacuum openings 32, and a vacuum supplying. member 33 which has a number of'openings 34 along an inner vertex line of the rotatable tube 31 is located within the rotatable tube. Each opening 34 is associated with a valve constituted by a leaf spring 35 which is shown in FIG. 5 in its pre-loaded open position. As shown in FIG. 6, in its closed" position, the valve spring 35 rests on a suitable stop 36.

The valve functions as follows: the leaf spring 35 is being pulled onto the stop 36 against its pre-loading by the vacuum inside the member 33 whenever the vacuum openings 32 in the rotatable tube 31 are uncovered (FIG. 6). If now the vacuum openings 32 in the rotatabletube 31 begin to be covered by a load 37 as shown in FIG- 5, the suitably predetermined. leakages between leaf springs 35 and the neighboring walls of the opening 34 permit the generation of an increasing vacuum in the openings 34 behind the leaf springs so that the leaf springs 35 open increasingly and finally the full vacuum is established in the vacuum openings 32 in the rotatable tube 31 which, are connected to the openings 34. The described arrangement is very advantageous for the reason that thereby not all vacuum openings in a rotatable tube are exposed to the vacuum at a time, but only those openings 32 which are fully covered so that the vacuum usage remains small.

The openings 34 in the vacuum supplying member 33, viewed in line with the roller axis, are about twice as long as the openings 32 in the rotatable tube 31 and the openings 32 following each other in a direction parallel to the roller axis are offset in relation to each other, whereby it is ensured-as is evident-that the cross section of openings 32 is always approximately equal to that of the openings 34 in the vacuum supplying member 33 and, thus, the suction remains about constant.

Control means can be provided, such as mechanical,

The embodiments shown can, of course, be varied in many ways without departing from thebasic concept of the invention. Thus, the configuration and the drive of the suction rollers maybe modified in many ways; for instance, the rotatable tubes or the vacuum supplying members can be made of bearing metal or of a suitable plastic material or can be provided with such a coating and rotate directly on each other so that special bearings can be dispensed with. .Also, the drive of the rollers can, of course, be effected differently, for instance by gear wheels or also externally over a friction wheel and a belt drive. Also, the configuration of the vacuum valves for the individual suction rollers can be made in other ways, likewise an endless conveyor belt with evenly distributed openings couldbe used for each grate instead of individual conveying rollers, wherein the vacuum supplying members could be constructed stationary and very similar to what has been described above in the case of the individual conveying rollers.

it is essential only that a conveying means which forms a flat conveying surface is always provided with vacuum openings behind which are located vacuum supplying members which hold by suction a load to be conveyed against the conveying means, wherein preferably the entire grate can be moved as required at the time in such a way that loads to be seized by the grate can be taken up in any desired manner or that loads which have been seized by the grate can be discharged or transferred in any desired manner.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various other changes and modifications can be made in the preferred form of apparatus described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is: i

1. Apparatus for the movement of articles by means of a conveyor which forms an operating plane and comprises a supporting frame, a plurality of rollers, each of said rollers having an axis and being mounted on said frame for rotation about its axis and with its axis parallel to the axes of the other of said plurality of rollers, the peripheral surfaces of said rollers lying in and defining said operating plane,each of said rollers having openings distributed over its peripheral surface, vacuum chambers inside said rollers for communication with a vacuum-supplying source, means for driving said rollers with equal peripheral speed, and means associated with each of said rollers for automatically connecting said vacuum-supplying source to all of said openings in the peripheral surface which lie in the operating plane and are covered by articles being moved and for automatically disconnecting said vacuum-supplying source from all other openings in the peripheral surface as said roller rotates about its axis.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, in combination with means for moving said apparatus in any chosen direction in conjunction with a load being conveyed or alone.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1, in combination with means for moving it in a straight line in conjunction with aload being conveyed or alone.

4. Apparatus according to claim 1, in combination with means for moving it in a swivelling motion in conjunction with a load being conveyed or alone.

5. Apparatus according to claim 1, in combination with means for moving it in any chosen combination of straight-line and swivelling movement in conjunction with a load being conveyed or alone.

6. The combination of a plurality of devices according to claim 1 in which said frames are jointly and individually movable.

7. At least one of said devices according to claim 1, in combination with further conveying means (51) having an approximately vertical operating plane which conveying means impart a movement to the loads abutting on said device which movement is synchronized on the movement provided by said device.

8. The combination according to claim 1, in which said conveying means comprise at least one buckeychain type elevator (51) with double endless lifting means (52) and lifting platforms (53) affixed between them which latter pass in front of the operating plane of said device.

9. The combination according to claim 8, in which the lifting platforms (53) affixed between the lifting means (52) reach only partly under the loads and in which the vacuum supply to said devices can be controlled in such a way that the loads are pulled against said device with a force just preventing their toppling out of the operating plane of said device.

10. The combination according to claim 8 in which at least one holding member (61) is arranged horizontally between the lifting means (52) and vertically to at least one of said devices and the face of which holding member (61) coincides with the operating plane of said device and which is provided with vacuum openings similar to the vacuum openings in said devices.

11. The combination according to claim 8 in which two bucket-chain type elevators (51) are placed with their active lifting platforms (53) opposite each other.

12. The combination according to claim 11, in which said two bucket-chain type elevators are horizontally adjustable in relation to each other.

13. The combination according to claim 8 in which said device is oriented with horizontally conveying rollers between the lifting means (52a, 52b) and there is added in the same operating plane a device of the same kind but with substantially vertical conveying rollers.

14. The combination according to claim 7 in which to at least one of said devices is between said lifting means (52) a further one of said devices of this kind is added.

15. Apparatus for the movement of articles by means of a conveyor which forms an operating plane and comprises a plurality of rollers which are driven with equal peripheral speed and which have openings equally distributed over their periphery, of which openings those which lie approximately in the operating plan'e always are connectable to vacuum-supplying sources within the rollers, characterized in that for the movement of heavier articles with at least one substantially flat and substantially rigid holding surface, such as suitcases, packages, etc., said rollers (1) are located in a frame (2) parallel to each other, the common operating surface of which lies in a plane formed by their surfaces, and each of said rollers includes a vacuum-supplying member within it for communication with a vacuumsupplying source, each of said vacuum-supplying members having in the neighborhood of the operating plane a sensing valve normally interrupting the vacuum supply and Wl'llCh opens the vacuum supply to said vacuum member when a load abuts on said valve.

16. Apparatus for the movement of articles by means of a conveyoi which forms an operating plane and comprises a plurality of rollers which are driven with equal peripheral speed and which have openings equally distributed over their periphery, of which openings those which lie approximately in the operating plane always are connected to vacuum-supplying members within the rollers, characterized in that for the movement of heavier articles with at least one substantially flat and substantially rigid holding surface, such as suitcases, packages, etc., said rollers (1) are located in a frame (2) parallel to each other, the common operating surface of which lies in a plane formed by their surfaces, and a row of separate openings (34) is provided in each of the vacuum-supplying members in the direction of the operating plane vertical to the conveying direction and in that each opening (34) is provided with a springloaded, normally open valve (35) of such kind that it is closed by the vacuum when the vacuum openings (32) corresponding with a particular opening (34) are uncovered and is opened by its spring loading when a load (37) covers the vacuum openings (32) of the conveying means.

17. Device according to claim 16 in which the length of each vacuum opening (32) in the conveying means (31) normal to the conveying direction is about half of the length of each vacuum supplyingopening (34) and that openings (32) succeeding in a transverse direction are offset against each other.

18. Apparatus for the movement of articles by means of a conveyor which forms an operating plane and comprises a plurality of rollers which are driven with equal peripheral speed and which have openings equally distributed over their periphery, of which openings those which lie approximately in the operating plane always are connected to vacuum-supplying sources within the rollers, characterized in that for the movement of heavier articles with at least one substantially flat and substantially rigid holding surface, such as suitcases, packages, etc., said rollers (l) are located in a frame (2) parallel to each other, the common operating surface of which lies in a plane formed by their surfaces, and together with control means which actuate and deactivate the conveying means, the movements of the entire device in any chosen direction, and the vacuum supply, each individually and in any chosen combination with each other, as soon as a certain load or the entire device has reached a predetermined position.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE I CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent 3, 701,412 Dated October 31, 1972 Inventgn-( Alfred Wriedt It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 11, line 13, change "claim 1'' to --claim 7--.

Signed and sealed this 6th day of March 1973.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M.FLETCHER,JR. ROBERT QOTTSCHALK Attesting Officer (lommlssloner of Patents IT-A4 PZ-ZSO (10-69] 

1. Apparatus for the movement of articles by means of a conveyor which forms an operating plane and comprises a supporting frame, a plurality of rollers, each of said rollers having an axis and being mounted on said frame for rotation about its axis and with its axis parallel to the axes of the other of said plurality of rollers, the peripheral surfaces of said rollers lying in and defining said operating plane, each of said rollers having openings distributed over its peripheral surface, vacuum chambers inside said rollers for communication with a vacuum-supplying source, means for driving said rollers with equal peripheral speed, and means associated with each of said rollers for automatically connecting said vacuum-supplying source to all of said openings in the peripheral surface which lie in the operating plane and are covered by articles being moved and for automatically disconnecting said vacuum-supplying source from all other openings in the peripheral surface as said roller rotates about its axis.
 2. Apparatus according to claim 1, in combination with means for moving said apparatus in any chosen direction in conjunction with a load being conveyed or alone.
 3. Apparatus according to claim 1, in combination with means for moving it in a straight line in conjunction with a load being conveyed or alone.
 4. Apparatus according to claim 1, in combination with means for moving it in a swivelling motion in conjunction with a load being conveyed or alone.
 5. Apparatus according to claim 1, in combination with means for moving it in any chosen combination of straight-line and swivelling movement in conjunction with a load being conveyed or alone.
 6. The combination of a plurality of devices according to claim 1 in which said frames are jointly and individually movable.
 7. At least one of said devices according to claim 1, in combination with further conveying means (51) having an approximately vertical operating plane which conveying means impart a movement to the loads abutting on said device which movement is synchronized on the movement provided by said device.
 8. The combination according to claim 1, in which said conveying means comprise at least one buckey-chain type elevator (51) with double endless lifting means (52) and lifting platforms (53) affixed between them which latter pass in front of the operating plane of said device.
 9. The combination according to claim 8, in which the lifting platforms (53) affixed between the lifting means (52) reach only partly under the loads and in which the vacuum supply to said devices can be controlled in such a way that the loads are pulled against said device with a force just preventing their toppling out of the operating plane of said device.
 10. The combination according to claim 8 in which at least one holding member (61) is arranged horizontally between the lifting means (52) and vertically to at least one of said devices and the face of which holding member (61) coincides with the operating plane of said device and which is provided with vacuum openings similar to the vacuum openings in said devices.
 11. The combination according to claim 8 in which two bucket-chain type elevators (51) are placed with their active lifTing platforms (53) opposite each other.
 12. The combination according to claim 11, in which said two bucket-chain type elevators are horizontally adjustable in relation to each other.
 13. The combination according to claim 8 in which said device is oriented with horizontally conveying rollers between the lifting means (52a, 52b) and there is added in the same operating plane a device of the same kind but with substantially vertical conveying rollers.
 14. The combination according to claim 7 in which to at least one of said devices is between said lifting means (52) a further one of said devices of this kind is added.
 15. Apparatus for the movement of articles by means of a conveyor which forms an operating plane and comprises a plurality of rollers which are driven with equal peripheral speed and which have openings equally distributed over their periphery, of which openings those which lie approximately in the operating plane always are connectable to vacuum-supplying sources within the rollers, characterized in that for the movement of heavier articles with at least one substantially flat and substantially rigid holding surface, such as suitcases, packages, etc., said rollers (1) are located in a frame (2) parallel to each other, the common operating surface of which lies in a plane formed by their surfaces, and each of said rollers includes a vacuum-supplying member within it for communication with a vacuum-supplying source, each of said vacuum-supplying members having in the neighborhood of the operating plane a sensing valve normally interrupting the vacuum supply and which opens the vacuum supply to said vacuum member when a load abuts on said valve.
 16. Apparatus for the movement of articles by means of a conveyor which forms an operating plane and comprises a plurality of rollers which are driven with equal peripheral speed and which have openings equally distributed over their periphery, of which openings those which lie approximately in the operating plane always are connected to vacuum-supplying members within the rollers, characterized in that for the movement of heavier articles with at least one substantially flat and substantially rigid holding surface, such as suitcases, packages, etc., said rollers (1) are located in a frame (2) parallel to each other, the common operating surface of which lies in a plane formed by their surfaces, and a row of separate openings (34) is provided in each of the vacuum-supplying members in the direction of the operating plane vertical to the conveying direction and in that each opening (34) is provided with a spring-loaded, normally open valve (35) of such kind that it is closed by the vacuum when the vacuum openings (32) corresponding with a particular opening (34) are uncovered and is opened by its spring loading when a load (37) covers the vacuum openings (32) of the conveying means.
 17. Device according to claim 16 in which the length of each vacuum opening (32) in the conveying means (31) normal to the conveying direction is about half of the length of each vacuum supplying opening (34) and that openings (32) succeeding in a transverse direction are offset against each other.
 18. Apparatus for the movement of articles by means of a conveyor which forms an operating plane and comprises a plurality of rollers which are driven with equal peripheral speed and which have openings equally distributed over their periphery, of which openings those which lie approximately in the operating plane always are connected to vacuum-supplying sources within the rollers, characterized in that for the movement of heavier articles with at least one substantially flat and substantially rigid holding surface, such as suitcases, packages, etc., said rollers (1) are located in a frame (2) parallel to each other, the common operating surface of which lies in a plane formed by their surfaces, and together with control means which actuate and de-activate the conveying means, the movements of the entire device in any chosen direction, and the vacuum supply, each individually and in any chosen combination with each other, as soon as a certain load or the entire device has reached a predetermined position. 